The invention relates to a constant velocity joint with a connecting shaft. The constant velocity joint includes an outer part with a cavity. Outer running grooves extend in the inner face of the outer parts in meridian planes with reference to the longitudinal axis of the outer part. An inner part is pivotably accommodated in the cavity of the outer part. Inner running grooves are formed in the inner part outer face, which form a pair with the respective opposed outer running grooves. The inner running grooves extend in meridian planes with reference to the longitudinal axis of the inner part and serve jointly to accommodate balls for torque transmitting purposes. A cage is arranged between the outer face of the inner part and the inner face of the outer part. The case includes windows to guide the balls. Inner teeth are arranged in a through-bore of the inner part. The through-bore is centered on the longitudinal axis of the inner part. Corresponding outer teeth are on the connecting shaft to non-rotatingly connect the connecting shaft to the inner part. With such an embodiment, the connecting shaft, by means of its outer teeth, is directly positioned in the through-bore of the inner part and is connected thereto by a securing ring. The inner teeth extend over the entire length of the through-bore.
The adjusting movement takes place between the inner part and outer part. It is thus a so-called constant velocity plunging joint which does not only permit the inner part to be articulated relative to the outer part, but it also enables their axial adjustment relative to one another.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,950,206 issued Aug. 21, 1990 discloses a driveshaft wherein two constant velocity joints are connected to one another by a connecting shaft. The inner part of one constant velocity joint is formed onto the one end of the connecting shaft, whereas the other end of the connecting shaft is provided with circumferentially distributed longitudinal grooves. The inner part of the other joint is provided with a projection and includes a through-bore having longitudinal grooves arranged opposite the longitudinal grooves of the connecting shaft. The longitudinal grooves arranged opposite one another in pairs contain rolling contact members in the form of balls arranged one behind the other with reference to the longitudinal axis. The change in length between the two constant velocity joints is effected by changing the depth by which the connecting shaft enters the through-bore of the inner part of the other constant velocity joint.
With such an embodiment, production of the inner part of the other joint by a forming operation is complicated and expensive. This is due to the fact that the inner running grooves of the inner part, which receive the torque transmitting balls arranged between the inner part and outer part of the joint, and the longitudinal grooves in the through-bore of the inner part have to be formed at the same time. A further problem is that the adjustable length to be provided between the connecting shaft and the inner part of the other joint may vary, depending on the specific application, requiring different lengths of the longitudinal grooves in the inner part of the other joint. Depending on the application, it is thus necessary to produce different inner parts, although the joints for example only differ with respect to the adjustable length in the plunging region.